Triathlon: Coronation event poses puzzlers for competitors

The weekend is hardly the time for riddles, but a couple of beauties were posed at the Coronation Classic triathlon that finished at Mount Maunganui's Coronation Park yesterday.

When is an open event not open to everyone, and how can the athlete with the day's fastest time not be considered the overall winner?

St Paul's College athlete Adam McCarthy, 16, had the day's fastest time of 58m 26s, but appeared the only person on the course who knew which race he was running.

"They told me to turn around at the base of the Mount but I said no ... I'll keep going," McCarthy said after crossing the finish line more than a minute ahead of second-placed Matt Backler.

"I was doing the sprint; I came first, I think," McCarthy continued.

"I didn't really know what to expect coming into it - you never really know. There were a couple of older guys, but I'm really happy with the day.

"I was with [Backler] on the swim and then got him through transition. I thought he was going to catch me on the bike but I managed to hold it and then kept it on the run.

"I felt really good in the swim, was feeling the legs a bit on the bike, but then got to the run and settled in."

As expected, Sarah Backler ran away with the women's event.

Toby Harris won the men's super sprint race in 36m 11s and Emily Kneale won the women's equivalent in 36m 30s.

Western Bay of Plenty schools were well represented in the secondary school classifications, though there was some confusion about which divisions some athletes and teams were contesting.

The problems appeared to have stemmed from semantics and the number of different classifications being run at once. But that aside, it was a fine morning for competitors and spectators alike.